Brawndo

One of the only possibilities would trading with Toronto for Kerfoot. Would love Staal, but I imagine the Sabres are near the Top of his M-NTC. In terms of trading Okposo for Turris, adding a declining player with an extra year left of his deal at 6 Million during the time the Sabres should be a bonafide Stanley Cup Contender makes little sense. Okposo is extremely overpaid for his present role on the team. That being said, John Vogl has an article about how the Okposo’s are the only members of the team to live in WNY all year round. If/when his contract gets to the point where it does not make sense to have him on the team, they probably will be able to approach him with options to join the organization in a different role and place him on LTIR for cap savings if he agrees. If terms of Jack wanting out, this organization deliberately destroyed two seasons by fielding two of the worse hockey teams ever seen in the history of the NHL to be able to draft either McDavid or Eichel. We are seeing the benefits of having a franchise center and Jack has moved from 29th to 6th on the TSN Top 50 Player Mid Season Rankings. He is behind McDavid, MacKinnon, Pasternak, Draistal and Panarin and ahead of Matthews. There is minimal chance the Sabres find a return anywhere close to the level of talent of Jack. Trading him would further damage the fragile relationship this team has with its fan base. Ralph is only going to play players that want to be here, yet we still see Zach Bogosian and ERod in the lineup for time to time, I imagine that changes after the trade deadline though. And this Organization, particularly this Management Group better have learned it’s lesson when it comes to trading disgruntled players with high end talent and how quickly the player can regain his love for the game.

In the years before the Pegulas purchased the Bills, Mike Schopp mentioned that some in the Bills Front Office felt the team had an aura of superiority over the Sabres. This was the same time The Sabres were making playoff runs and the Bills weren’t even half way through their playoff drought. He mentioned one individual he spoke with frequently that had this attitude. Fast forward to the Pegulas purchasing the Bills. Tim Graham reported that one of the biggest shocks for them was how much better and more efficient the business office for the Bills was compared to the Sabres. This was the primary reason why Russ Brandon was moved into the position of President for Both Organizations. I also believe that Brandon is the individual that Schopp was referring to. The fact he was in this position to have influence over the Sabres was probably detrimental. To say that Terry Pegula appears to be easily influenced, does not seem like a stretch. He had a lunch meeting with PLF and he is announced to a leadership position with the Sabres in short order. The fact that The Pegulas saw first hand the money making machine that is the NFL, even in one of its smallest markets, had to influence their thinking. Also NFL Ownership is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, the majority ownership for all clubs with the exception of Green Bay are Billionaires in a league with annual revenues approaching 13 Billion, compare that to the NHL 3.1 Billion. They also purchased the Bills for 1.4 Billion and the Carolina Panthers were sold a few seasons later 2.6 Billion meaning any franchise sold after this will easily approach 3 Billion, so they have doubled their investment in a few short years. I know that Forbes Values the franchise under a Billion, but I’m looking at the resale value of the team, particularly if they allowed it to be relocated. So devoting more time, effort and resources to Bills is a realistic possibility. I do believe there is a plan in place to renovate Key Bank Center and the announcement is being delayed until the plans are finalized for a Downtown Bills Stadium. They most likely will be asking for hundreds of millions from New York State to assist in building the new stadium, so they might say we are investing our own money into a KBC Renovation in an attempt to make it easier for the public to swallow. Or they might ask for public funding for both at once. There are some rumors floating around about the the lack of Red and Black Jerseys for the team. The first was that certain alumni members hated the change in color and the fact that it was associated with one of the darker times in team history with the Rigas Ownership. The second was they missed a deadline with Adidas to have the jerseys done in enough time and with the fact that they did not order enough 50th Jerseys this is a strong possibility. What does this all mean? Nothing because the Pegulas own the team and can run it how they see fit

2 goals and 2 assists for Cozens vs Regina tonight

His Family was very close to Luca Calanni, who died of the flu last week as well. I cannot imagine going through what he has had to deal with the past few months.

I would fly to Tampa to help him pack

From LeBrun and the Athletic It appears that any D Man besides Dahlin and Jokiharju are available

He has a hat trick and an assist versus Moose Jaw Tonight

Pilut has been pulled out of the AHL All Star Game. He probably gets called back up Sunday or Monday

That last one is going to get you in trouble with Animal Rights Activists.

The thread is now Twitter Famous

He has been returned to Cincinnati

One player is 23 entering his prime and has been consistent in improving season after season. The other is 28 hasn’t shown much consistency from year to year and is at the age when decline begins to set in. One is a budding NHL Superstar, the other is a good player. One’s Contract is turning into a bargain, the other will have buyers remorse within a couple seasons Comparing the Eichel and Pageau for the purpose of signing the latter is a stretch at best

He’s has a career shooting percentage of 10.6% and is shooting at a rate of 18.4% this season. The previous three seasons he has had 7.5, 9.5 and 4.8 shooting percentages. Someone will over pay at the trade deadline and/or July 1st, I would be leery to be that team